TWI651894B - Electrical connector and method of making the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical connector includes an insulating body having a base and a tongue and a row of terminals held by the insulating body, the row of terminals including widened terminals, each of the terminals including a contact portion exposed on a surface of the tongue, Extending out a tail portion of the insulative housing and a connection portion connected to the contact portion and the tail portion, wherein the widened terminal includes a widened portion extending laterally from a side of the contact portion and buried in the tongue plate, The widened portion is further displaced toward the center of the thickness of the tongue so that the contact portion of the widened terminal and the widened portion have a Z-shaped cross section.

Description

Electrical connector and method of manufacturing same

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector suitable for forward and reverse insertion and a method of fabricating the same.

The positive and negative plug connector disclosed in the Chinese Patent Publication No. 105024197A disclosed on November 4, 2015 includes an insulating body having a tongue plate, two rows of terminals held by the tongue plate, and sleeved on the insulating body. The outer casing. During the molding of the power terminals of the rows of terminals, the tape is torn into a contact portion, and the other portion of the tape is formed into a holding portion located behind the contact portion and a widened portion located on the side of the contact portion. The widening portion and the holding portion are embedded in the insulative housing, and the contact portion is exposed on the tongue plate for docking with the mating connector.

The thickness of the strip should not be too thick, otherwise it will be difficult to tear to form the contact portion and other parts. If the thick strip is finally unable to be torn, the heat dissipating area is limited, which is not conducive to the passage of large current. Even if the thick strip is successfully torn, the contact portion is easily damaged during the tearing process.

In view of this, it is necessary to provide an electrical connector and a method of manufacturing the same to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector that facilitates the transmission of large currents and a method of fabricating the same.

The electrical connector of the present invention can be implemented by the following technical solutions: an electrical connector comprising an insulating body having a base and a tongue and a row of terminals held by the insulating body, the row of terminals comprising a widening terminal, each of the The terminal includes a contact portion exposed on a surface of the tongue plate, a tail portion extending from the insulative housing, and a connection portion connected to the contact portion and the tail portion, wherein the widened terminal includes a lateral extension extending from a side of the contact portion and The widened portion of the tongue plate is embedded, and the widened portion is further displaced toward the center of the thickness of the tongue to make the contact portion of the widened terminal and the widened portion have a Z-shaped cross section.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the widened portion is formed by thinning the front end portion of the widened terminal, and the unthinned portion forms a contact portion thereof.

As a further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention, the widened terminal is a power terminal or a ground terminal.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the top surface of the widened portion of the widened terminal away from the center of the thickness of the tongue is lower than the top surface of the contact portion away from the center of the thickness of the tongue, and the widened portion is close to The bottom surface of the center of the tongue thickness is lower than the bottom surface of the contact portion near the center of the thickness of the tongue.

As a further improvement of the present invention, a slot is not formed between the contact portion of the widened terminal and the widened portion, and the top surface of the contact portion of the widened terminal is coplanar with the top surface of the connecting portion.

As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the terminals includes an embedded portion extending from a front end of the contact portion and buried in the tongue plate, and the widened portion of the widened terminal does not reach the embedded portion.

As a further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention, the thickness of the widened portion of the widened terminal is smaller than the thickness of the contact portion, and the sum of the width of the contact portion of the widened terminal and the widened portion is equal to the connection portion of the widened terminal The width is greater than the width of the contacts of the other terminals.

As a further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention, the electrical connector further includes a row of terminals, the two rows of terminals are arranged in a reverse symmetry, wherein the widened portions of the two rows of terminals are stacked on top of each other to contact.

As a further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention, the two rows of terminals each include a grounding terminal on both sides of the butt tongue, the electrical connector includes a metal mask piece, and the metal mask piece includes a pair of sheet portions. The pair of sheet-like portions are sandwiched between the upper and lower ground terminals in the vertical direction.

As a further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an electrical connector includes the following steps: a. stamping two rows of terminals including a grounding terminal with a metal piece, so that each terminal has a contact portion, a connecting portion, and a tail portion, and is punched. Thinning the side of the contact portion of the grounding terminal to form a widened portion, and the stamping step is further shifted toward the center of the thickness of the tongue plate so that the contact portion and the widened portion have a Z-shaped cross section; b. A terminal module for holding two rows of the terminals is formed by injection molding; c. a metal shell is obtained, and the terminal module is sleeved in the metal shell.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the power terminal of the present invention increases the width thereof by providing a widening portion, thereby expanding the heat dissipation area to facilitate the passage of a large current. However, the provision of the widening portion may cause it to be mistakenly overlapped with the adjacent terminal or may be mistakenly overlapped with the non-docked terminal of the mating connector. Allowing the widened portion to be buried in the tongue rather than being exposed on the surface of the tongue avoids erroneous overlap with other terminals. The widened portion is formed by thinning the front portion of the power supply terminal, and the process is easy and does not damage the contact portion during the manufacturing process. The contact portion can be set to a desired thickness as needed, thereby facilitating the expansion of the heat dissipation area to facilitate the passage of a large current. The widening of the widened portion further toward the center of the thickness of the tongue plate further enlarges the step between the contact portion and the widened portion, facilitating the filling of the plastic material during the injection molding process.

100‧‧‧Electrical connector

1‧‧‧Insulating body

1a‧‧‧ Body Department

1b‧‧‧Molded parts

10‧‧‧Terminal module

11‧‧‧ base

111‧‧‧Combination Department

12‧‧ ‧ tongue

121‧‧‧Terminal slot

13‧‧‧Abutment

2‧‧‧ terminals

20A, 20B‧‧‧ widened terminals

21‧‧‧Contacts

22‧‧‧Connecting Department

23‧‧‧ tail

24‧‧ ‧ Widening Department

25‧‧‧ steps

26‧‧‧ embedded department

3‧‧‧Metal mask

31‧‧‧Face

311‧‧‧ Grounding feet

4‧‧‧Waterproof Department

41‧‧‧Uphold Department

42‧‧‧ Side Keeping Department

43‧‧‧Protruding

5‧‧‧Metal shell

51‧‧‧ Main body

510‧‧‧上壁

512‧‧‧through hole

52‧‧‧ containment chamber

53‧‧‧Support

54‧‧‧Terminal Department

55‧‧‧ Grounding Department

56‧‧‧ Keep slot

57‧‧‧ side wall

G‧‧‧ Grounding terminal

P‧‧‧Power terminal

The first figure is an assembled view of the electrical connector of the present invention.

The second figure is an assembled view of the other angle of the first figure.

The third figure is a perspective view of the waterproof portion of the electrical connector shown in the first figure separated from the insulating body.

The fourth figure is a perspective view of the electrical connector.

The fifth figure is a perspective view of the body portion separated from the injection molded part.

The sixth figure is a perspective view of the terminal separated from the body portion.

The seventh figure is a perspective view of another angle of the sixth figure.

The eighth figure is an exploded perspective view of the terminal module.

The ninth diagram is a perspective view of another angle of the eighth diagram.

The tenth figure is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of the first figure.

The eleventh figure is a plan view of the power terminal shown in the eighth figure.

Figure 12 is a side view of the power terminal shown in the eighth figure.

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention and a method of manufacturing the same will be described with reference to the first to twelfth drawings.

The electrical connector 100 of the present invention is a socket connector, and includes a terminal module 10, a waterproof portion 4, and a metal shell 5 sleeved outside the insulating body 1. The terminal module 10 includes an insulative housing 1 , two rows of terminals 2 and a metal mask piece 3 that are held in opposite directions and are symmetrically disposed on the insulative housing 1 .

The insulative housing 1 has a base portion 11, a tongue plate 12 extending forward from the base portion 11, and a base 13 disposed at the rear end of the base portion 11. The insulative housing 1 includes a body portion 1a provided with a terminal groove 121 and an injection molded part 1b injection molded on the body portion 1a. The base portion 11 is composed of a rear end portion of both the body portion 1a and the injection molded member 1b. A joint portion 111 is provided at a rear end of the base portion 11. The tongue plate 12 is composed of a forwardly extending portion of both the body portion 1a and the injection molded member 1b.

Each row of terminals 2 includes a ground terminal G on both sides, a power terminal P and a signal terminal located inside the ground terminal G. Each of the terminals 2 includes a contact portion 21 exposed on a surface of the tongue plate 12, a tail portion 23 extending from the insulative housing 1, a connecting portion 22 connected to the contact portion 21 and the tail portion 23, and An insertion portion 26 provided at a front end of the contact portion 21. Each of the two rows of terminals 2 has a widened terminal. In the present embodiment, the widened terminal is a power terminal P. The widened terminal further includes a widened portion 24 that is laterally coupled to the contact portion 21 and buried in the tongue plate 12. A step 25 is formed between the top surface of the contact portion 21 of the widened terminal away from the center of the tongue plate 12 and the top surface of the widened portion 24 away from the center of the tongue plate 12. The slot between the contact portion 21 of the widened terminal and the widened portion 24 is not formed, and the cross section of both is substantially Z-shaped (as shown in Fig. 10). The thickness of the widened portion 24 of the widened terminal is smaller than the thickness of the contact portion 21. The sum of the width of the contact portion 21 of the widened terminal and the widened portion 24 is larger than the width of the other terminal, that is, the ground terminal G or the contact portion 21 of the signal terminal. The width of the connecting portion 22 of the widened terminal is the same as the sum of the widths of the contact portion 21 and the widened portion 24. The widened portions in the upper and lower rows of terminals are stacked one on top of the other to contact.

The metal mask sheet 3 includes a pair of sheet-like portions 31 that are separately provided. A grounding leg 311 extends downward from the rear end of each of the sheet portions 31.

The metal shell 5 includes a main body portion 51 , a receiving cavity 52 surrounded by the main body portion 51 , a supporting portion 53 on both sides of the main body portion 51 , a stop portion 54 provided in the receiving cavity 52 , and the main body portion 51 . A ground portion 55 that protrudes from the receiving cavity 52 to contact the mating connector. The main body portion 51 includes an upper wall 510 and side walls 57 on both sides, and the rear edge is provided with a coupling groove 511 which is open rearward. A through hole 512 is defined in the upper wall 510. A retaining groove 56 that penetrates the coupling groove 511 is opened on the rear side of the side wall 57.

The waterproof portion 4 has a pair of side holding portions 42 , an upper holding portion 41 located between the pair of side holding portions 42 , and a protruding portion 43 that protrudes upward from the upper holding portion 41 .

The method of manufacturing the electrical connector 100 includes the following steps.

The front end of the contact portion 21 of the terminal 2 is thinned to form the embedded portion 26. The widened portion 24 is formed by punching and thinning on the side of the contact portion 21 of the power terminal P. At this time, the widened portion 24 and the contact portion 21 have a substantially Z-shaped cross section. That is, the top surface of the widened portion 24 of the upper row of widened terminals is lower than the top surface of the contact portion 21 to form a step 25 therebetween, and the bottom surface of the widened portion 24 is also lower than the bottom surface of the contact portion 21. Compared with the structure in which the contact portion 21 is flush with the bottom surface of the widened portion 24, the punching force is increased during the punching and thinning process, and the widened portion 24 is further downwardly offset to increase the top surface of the contact portion 21 and widen. The step of the step 25 between the top faces of the portions 24 facilitates the filling of the plastic material during the injection molding process. During the thinning of the lower row of terminals 2, the widened portion 24 of the widened terminal of the lower row of terminals 2 is further biased upward to enlarge the top surface and widened portion 24 of the contact portion 21 away from the center of the tongue plate 12. The step of the step 25 between the top faces away from the center of the tongue 12 is such that the plastic material is filled during the re-injection molding process.

The upper row terminal 2 and the metal mask piece 3 are injection molded on the body portion 1a. The fitting portion 26 and the widened portion 24 of the upper row of terminals 2 are buried in the tongue plate 12. The plastic material is partially filled into the step 25 of the widened terminal of the upper row of terminals 2. The lower row of terminals 2 is abutted against the main body portion 1a and housed in the terminal groove 121 of the main body portion 1a. The pair of sheet-like portions 31 are sandwiched between the upper and lower ground terminals G in the vertical direction. Then, the pair of main body portions 1a and the metal cover sheets 3 of the fixed holding terminal 2 are molded into the terminal module 10 by re-injection molding. The remolded material forms the injection molded part 1b. The plastic material that is re-injected is partially filled into the step 25 of the widened terminal of the lower row of terminals 2. The tail portions 23 of the two rows of terminals 2 are arranged in a row on the base 13 in a coplanar manner. The terminal module 10 is integrally formed in this manner.

The metal shell 5 is obtained by injection molding of metal powder. The terminal module 10 is mounted in the receiving cavity 52 of the metal shell 5. The base 11 is forwardly abutted against the stop portion 54. The joint portion 111 of the base portion 11 is engaged with the coupling groove 511 of the metal shell 5.

The waterproof portion 4 is formed by injection molding an insulating material through the through hole 512 in the rear portion of the terminal module 10 and the metal case 5. The upper holding portion 41 of the waterproof portion 4 is held inside the upper wall 510. The protruding portion 43 is trapped in the through hole 512, and the side holding portion 42 is held by the holding groove 56 and flush with the side wall 57.

The power supply terminal P is increased in width by providing the widening portion 24, thereby expanding the heat dissipation area to facilitate passage of a large current. The widened portion 24 is embedded in the tongue plate 12 instead of being exposed on the surface of the tongue plate 12 to avoid erroneous overlap with other terminals, and also conforms to the specification of the terminal contact portion width of the USB Type C. Further, in the prior art, the connection portion and the soldering portion of the widened terminal are widened, but the contact portion cannot be widened due to the docking with the mating connector, and a current bottleneck phenomenon occurs, and the contact of the widened terminal of the present invention occurs. The widening of the portion 21 will improve the above phenomenon. The widened portion 24 is formed by thinning the front portion of the power supply terminal P, and the process is easy and the contact portion 21 is not damaged during the manufacturing process. The contact portion 21 can be provided with a desired thickness as needed, thereby facilitating the expansion of the heat dissipation area to facilitate the passage of a large current. The widening portion 24 is further displaced toward the center of the thickness of the tongue plate 12 to further increase the step difference between the step portion 25 between the contact portion 21 and the widened portion 24, thereby facilitating the filling of the plastic material during the injection molding process.

The widened portion 24 in the present embodiment may be provided in the ground terminal G or other terminals in other embodiments, and the power terminal P, the ground terminal G, or other terminals having the widened portion 24 may be collectively referred to as a widened terminal. Of course, there is a greater chance that the power terminal P and the ground terminal G need to transmit a large power source, and the possibility of setting a widened portion is greater.

In another embodiment, the two rows of terminals 2 and the metal mask sheet 3 may be integrally formed in the body portion 1a during the first injection molding process, and the plastic material is filled into the step 25 of the terminal 2. Then, the terminal module 10 is injection molded again on the body portion 1a.

In summary, the present invention complies with the requirements of the invention patent and submits a patent application according to law. However, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art will be able to make equivalent modifications or variations in accordance with the spirit of the present invention. It should be covered by the following patent application.

Claims (10)

An electrical connector includes an insulating body having a base and a tongue and a row of terminals held by the insulating body, the row of terminals including widened terminals, each of the terminals including a contact portion exposed on a surface of the tongue, Extending out a tail portion of the insulative housing and a connection portion connected to the contact portion and the tail portion, wherein the row of terminals includes a power terminal and a ground terminal, and the power terminal is configured as the widened terminal, and the widened terminal includes The side of the contact portion extends laterally and is embedded in the widened portion of the tongue plate, and the widened portion is further offset toward the center of the thickness of the tongue to widen the contact portion of the terminal and the section of the widened portion It is Z-shaped. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the widened portion is formed by thinning a front end portion of the widened terminal, and the unthinned portion forms a contact portion thereof. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the ground terminal is also provided as the widened terminal. The electrical connector of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the widened portion of the widened terminal is lower than the top surface of the thickness center of the tongue than the thickness of the contact portion away from the tongue The top surface of the center, the bottom surface of the widened portion near the center of the thickness of the tongue is lower than the bottom surface of the contact portion near the center of the thickness of the tongue. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein no slot is formed between the contact portion of the widened terminal and the widened portion, and the top surface of the contact portion of the widened terminal and the top of the connecting portion Face to face. The electrical connector of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein each of the terminals includes an embedded portion extending from a front end of the contact portion and embedded in the tongue plate, the widened terminal The widened portion does not reach the embedded portion. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the widening The thickness of the widened portion of the terminal is smaller than the thickness of the contact portion, and the sum of the width of the contact portion of the widened terminal and the widened portion is equal to the width of the connecting portion of the widened terminal, which is larger than the width of the contact portion of the other terminals. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the electrical connector further comprises a row of terminals, the two rows of terminals being arranged in a reverse symmetrical configuration, wherein the widened portions of the two rows of terminals are stacked one on top of the other. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein the two rows of terminals each comprise a grounding terminal on both sides of the mating tongue, the electrical connector comprising a metal mask, the metal mask comprising a pair In the sheet portion, the pair of sheet-like portions are sandwiched between the upper and lower ground terminals in the vertical direction. A method for manufacturing an electrical connector, comprising the steps of: a. stamping two rows of terminals including a grounding terminal and a power terminal with a metal piece, so that each terminal has a contact portion, a connecting portion, and a tail portion, and the contact of the power terminal is thinned by punching The side of the portion is formed to form a widened portion, and the widened portion is further offset toward the center of the thickness of the tongue plate so that the contact portion and the widened portion have a Z-shaped cross section; b. a terminal module having two rows of the terminals; c. a metal shell is formed, and the terminal module is sleeved in the metal shell.